Turkey’s Extradition Request for Syrian Kurdish Leader

Jessica Dalmau, Intern, Middle East

March 2, 2018

Saleh Muslim, a former leader of the Kurdish Democratic Party (PYD) in Syria, has been detained in Prague, Czech Republic on Saturday. The Intercontinental Police (Interpol) arrested him at the request of Turkish Interpol (Associated Press). The Turkish government considers the PYD to be an affiliate branch of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is labeled as a terrorist organization. Turkey’s government offered a one-million-dollar bounty for the arrest of Muslim as one of Turkey’s “Most Wanted Terrorists” (Al Jazeera).

As Saleh awaits trial in the Czech Republic, Prague’s chief prosecutor’s office released a statement postponing the trial which was scheduled for Monday, in order to review the files against Muslim (Anadolu Agency). The extradition file against Muslim includes two attacks carried out in Ankara, Turkey and sedition charges (Reuters). The PYD released a statement against Turkey’s actions as unjust and with no jurisdiction over Muslim, who is a Syrian national (Reuters). Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bakir Bozdag sent a file to the Czech Republic, formally requesting the extradition (Associative Press).